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March 2011

March 31, 2011

I figure that most of you are like me as soon as deer season ends you start thinking about the next season that’s going to open. Now you have rabbit and squirrel and they are a lot of fun, but the big seasons for us in the south and most of the country are deer and turkey. I am fortunate to have a place to hunt in the lower part of the state that I live in where the season opens March 15th. The only place that opens earlier than it does down there are some areas in Florida. The 15th is plenty early for me because it gets here before I realize it every year!

This year was no different and my good friend and hunting buddy, Robert Colcolough, and I made the drive to his family farm in Barnwell, SC just like we have been doing for years. We didn’t get to leave until Friday afternoon, but thanks to the time change that I fussed about last week we made it there just before dark – just in time to try and roost a bird.

As I said earlier ,we have been hunting this place for years and the birds are always in the same area. They usually roost in pretty much the same place year after year. After busting our tail to get there before dark, we couldn’t get a bird to gobble to save our lives. Though we would have loved to hear one gobble to give us a little proof that there was a big tom in the area, it still didn’t change our plans because we had to be there the next morning to satisfy our curiosity. It had been too good over the years to overlook that area.

Saturday morning was a beautiful, clear, sunny morning that was perfect for the first turkey hunt of the year. We were at the hill just before daylight expecting to hear a gobble any second but the later it got the less likely our chances got. A little disappointed, we headed to a food plot that turkeys use a lot and just before we got to it I cut real aggressively on my hammerhead box call and got a turkey to gobble. We could also hear some hens with him calling back to us. We looked around and found a good place to set up and tried to coax him in, but he never gobbled again. One of the hens came in, but I guess the gobbler had more than one with him and stayed out of sight. The rest of the day – as pretty as it was – we never heard or saw another bird.

Sunday morning we made plans to go back to the hill because we knew they was one bird up there for sure. We were set up in the food plot well before daylight and, just like the day before, the sun was up and we still had not heard a gobble. Around 7:40 there was a bunch of crows raising cain behind us and then there was a distinct gobble. I gave him a minute or two and when I called to him he answered right back! The good thing was two of them answered back instead of one. We were set up facing the other direction and had the decoys in the food plot in front of us, so I told Robert to stay put and I turned around in case they came straight in behind us. They were fired up and every time I called they would answer right back.

Then there was another bird that started gobbling to our left. The two main birds worked their way around and circled around to my right. I could see them skirt the edge of the food plot and head straight to the decoys. I told Robert not to move; they were headed straight out in front of him. They did go straight out in front of him, but they didn’t go straight to the decoys – they stayed on the other side of them just out of Robert's range. They stayed out in front if him, gobbling like crazy, tempting him the whole time; but there was nothing he could do about it.

While those two birds were doing all the gobbling, the bird behind us was working his way in, also. Finally, he started getting closer and the first two birds started toward him. They passed back across the food plot in front of Robert and he still didn’t have a shot. When I got to where I could see them, I could tell they were going to be a little out of range for me, as well. The way they were headed, they had to go behind a little island of trees. So when they disappeared behind it, I got on my belly and closed the distance between us. There was some broom straw and grown-up weeds to give me some cover while I crawled about 15 yards. When I eased up to look where they were, they were probably inside of 30 yards. So I eased up and put my bead on the lead gobbler and squeezed off a shot. As soon as I shoo,t a bird flew straight up in the air. I thought I had missed and immediately started firing on the retreating bird. The first shot must have been a warning shot but the second brought him back to the ground. About the time the bird hit the ground, I heard Robert ask, "Where is the other bird?" As I looked around, he was to my left flopping on the ground.

The good thing is in South Carolina it is legal to kill two birds in one day, although I hated Robert didn’t get one of them. We have a rule between us… if they come in and you have a shot, don’t let them leave! It is amazing when turkey hunting what a difference a day can make, but there was a thunderstorm Saturday night and I think that was the biggest difference. If you have ever watched chickens in someone’s yard, they will get along and put up with each other; but if it rains, the next day they act like they are all strangers. They will fight and be a lot more active than before the rain. Turkeys, to me, are the same way; and if it rains or any type of weather change, I want to be in the woods right after that.

March 29, 2011

I hope everyone is as ready for turkey season as I am! I have been seeing turkeys strutting in fields all over Georgia and Alabama. Talking to a lot of my customers in both states, they have been hearing turkeys gobbling for a month now. I thought all the rain and cold weather might hold them back a little bit, but I guess not.

A couple of weeks ago I wrote about some of Moultrie’s new cameras that they have came out with this year. With work being as hectic as it’s been, I haven’t had the time to fool around with any of them until this past week. I put up one of the new Plot Stalker cameras and man was I really impressed! As I mentioned in the other blog, this is not the typical game camera. It has a wider-angled lens with a longer depth perception or focus or whatever you want to call it. What I am trying to say it does is focus on objects a lot further away that the traditional game camera.

I put it up on a food plot for a few days that I have a normal motion sensor camera on, also. I backed the camera up and placed it on the base of a tower stand where it would have a view of pretty much the whole food plot. I set the camera to take a picture every 30 seconds from dawn till dusk to see what was walking around my other camera. I only get daytime pictures with this camera; but when you are trying to see where and when critters are entering and leaving your food plots and fields, it's going to be a priceless addition to our scouting tools.

I caught a lot of deer and turkey walking behind where my motion camera is; not to mention the number of deer and turkey that were walking on the edge on the woods that never came into the food plot. It is an 8 mega-pixel camera, too, so when I zoomed in on some of the animals in the back of the field they were still pretty clear. I can’t say enough how excited I am about this camera for the upcoming fall to help pattern some of my deer. I also can't wait to put this thing on some of my favorite hardwood ridges to help me know which acorn trees the deer are using before I ever hunt it the first time. I feel like it will just make the opportunities I get to go into the woods hunting a lot more productive so I don’t waste days hunting in areas the deer are not using.

The only drawback to this camera is it doesn’t take pictures at night, but when the purpose I am going to be using it for is to see where the deer/turkey are moving during daylight hours, I don’t care what they are doing at night. I have been getting pictures of big bucks at night for years on my motion sensor cameras and have never seen most of them in the daylight. I will let it worry about taking the nighttime photos and let my Plot Stalker do my daytime scouting for me.

Kim says, "Gigantic hog, at least 3 foot from ground to top of shoulder. Minimum 400 lbs. Measured by deer block which is 11 in tall."

Keep sending in your photos and checking this blog, because you may be our next featured hunter! Please include your full name, location, which Moultrie camera you're using and a short story with your photo if you want it shared on our Grow the Hunt blog. The more information and better the photo, the better your chance to be featured.

March 22, 2011

This week feels like spring has finally got here at my house. We have had several days in the 60’s and a couple even got up in the 70’s. As the days start getting longer, it just brings back memories of years past of turkeys gobbling on a cool crisp April morning. Though it’s not April yet, there have been a few days that sure felt that way in the last couple of weeks. Turkey season will be opening this week in Alabama (and part of South Carolina) and I am ready to say the least.

I always try to write about positive things on the blog and try keep it all about hunting and fishing, but there is something that happens twice a year that I get sick of. I talk to a lot of people in the southeast and no one likes it when it happens. With that being said if no one likes for it to happen every year, why does it keep happening? I am talking the time changing from standard time to daylight savings time every year.

It does effect our hunting every year because it happens during deer and turkey season every year. The thing that gets me is standard time only lasts for a little over four months. Every year it seems like the time changes sooner and later every year. I think the best thing to do is the next time we have to change it is split the difference. Move the time back 30 minutes and leave it alone. That way we get the best of both worlds all year long and don’t have to put our bodies through the readjustment twice a year. I guess there is someone that has a good reason for the time change each year, but if we can use my thirty-minute idea one way or the other would be fine with me as long as they left it alone.

March 17, 2011

Man, it has been a heck of a month! It has been one show after the other and then to make things worse at my biggest show of the year my computer decided it was going to quit on me. I have it back up and working now so hopefully you guys didn’t miss me too bad; heck' you probably needed a break from me on here anyway. For about two weeks in a row I was only home for one night so all I have done is work. If I would have had my computer, I wouldn’t have had anything to write about.

One of my problems has been the days when I have been home and had a chance to go fishing the weather has been crappy. Finally, last week I caught a pretty day and the weather was good enough to do a little Crappie fishing. I talked to my uncle to see if he wanted to go because he is the Crappie guru! He and I loaded up and had my little boy tagging along with us. Tye had wanted to go fishing everyday that I was home and it has been all he could talk about. He wants to go rain or shine – and that is a good thing when it comes to hunting or fishing.

We started out at the café for a big breakfast to fuel up and let the temperature rise before we got on the water. By the time we got on the water it was in the lower 60’s, but the wind got up and made it feel a lot colder. Luckily, I had brought Tye enough clothes; plus, the way he ran around the boat checking on the rods we had on the water. I don’t think he could have gotten cold anyway. The first place we stopped we caught four fish pretty quick and then it died. The good thing was every one that we caught was a slab and Tye got to catch two of them. We hit several more places and every place we went we caught a few fish. Although we caught fish every place we went, we never really just got on them like when the Crappie are eating it up. Most of the ones that we caught were really white so they are just sliding up and it should just get better from here on out.

Tye was great all day and fished his butt off all day long, although we had to make sure he stayed down in the bottom of the boat and not up on the decks with us. It got pretty chilly around 4:30 when we decided to head in, but Tye didn’t want to leave. He said he wanted to stay and fish for the night. If it would have been warm and the fish biting better, I would have been right in there with him...but Jimmy and I were about frozen!

March 15, 2011

Here is our next Game Spy Photo Featured Hunter...via Twitter! You can follow us on Twitter and get up-to-the-minute updates and special offers directly from Moultrie. Plus, you can submit your photos to be featured on this blog!

Our new Twitter hunter's photo to be highlighted comes from Rick Thompson@rickyt26. These pics of does in a food plot were part of an ongoing food plot project.

Rick says, "This is a pic of a coyote that I am hunting. I'm using my Moultrie trail cam to pattern when they are coming so that one of these nights I can be waiting on him when he gets there with my 22-250."

Keep sending in your photos and checking this blog, because you may be our next featured hunter! Please include your full name, location, which Moultrie camera you're using and a short story with your photo if you want it shared on our Grow the Hunt blog. The more information and better the photo, the better your chance to be featured.

March 10, 2011

Our next photo to be highlighted comes from Greg Baney in Central, PA. Greg was able to catch this high-flying doe mid-flight on March 1, 2011 with his Moultrie Game Spy Camera.

Greg says, "Check this high flyer out!"

Keep sending in your photos and checking this blog, because you may be our next featured hunter! Please include your full name, location, which Moultrie camera you're using and a short story with your photo if you want it shared on our Grow the Hunt blog. The more information and better the photo, the better your chance to be featured.

March 02, 2011

We're excited to announce our first-ever Game Spy Photo Featured Hunter...via Twitter! You can follow us on Twitter and get up-to-the-minute updates and special offers directly from Moultrie. Plus, you can submit your photos to be featured on this blog!

Our first Twitter hunter's photo to be highlighted comes from Clint Patterson@WeHuntSC. These pics of does in a food plot were part of an ongoing food plot project.

Clint says, "Since putting new batteries in the game camera, I’ve been able to get some decent pics of does in the plot munching...! Still have not gotten any bucks to walk past the camera yet though. I’m thinking about putting a camera on the other end of the plot as well since it is very long and narrow and I can tell that the deer are browsing the plot and crossing through it at various locations."

Keep sending in your photos and checking this blog, because you may be our next featured hunter! Please include your full name, location, which Moultrie camera you're using and a short story with your photo if you want it shared on our Grow the Hunt blog. The more information and better the photo, the better your chance to be featured.

March 01, 2011

Time has its way with Mother Nature. The heaping piles of snow that decorate our driveways and cluster our sidewalks are slowly beginning to melt. Spring has always been my favorite season. It’s that warm gust of wind that splashes against us and the sunbeams of heat that boil our anticipation. I can honestly say that, finally, spring is in the air.

We have much to look forward to as we recover from another brutal winter. It’s not just the melting phase of winter that warms my feelings, but also the refreshing news that follows. Spring is a time for nature to bloom, animals to give birth and memories to be formed.

Last week, I spent some precious time with my family. Throughout the entire weekend, I couldn’t help but notice the peculiar sights of fish and game. As temperatures warmed and hovered above freezing, animals began heavily foraging. It was the first time all winter season that the snowy agriculture fields melted. For once, the frozen blanket of white was uncovered to the muddy earth. It’s nice to see the barren grounds of Wisconsin after 5 months of complete snow-suffocation.

I spotted several critters in my backyard browsing for hidden treats. The heavy-coated whitetail deer were totally fearless. It always seemed to me that deer become overly courageous during the off-season. I’ve noticed an interesting pattern of habits from the past few years watching them from my living room. A small herd of doe splashed their way across the yard, frolicking back-and-forth. I took pleasure in watching the enlightening scene continue. I knew that this was the only special period of time when deer would ever think about stepping foot into a hunter’s lawn.

It’s funny how spring seems to bring a new atmospheric culture of life. Several flocks of turkey made their way into the fields. Both hens and gobblers speckled across the open terrain, plucking their beaks into the corn-infested mud. A quick glance to the sky proved spring was nearly here. Hundreds of sand-hill cranes darted overhead, finally reaching their destination all the way from Florida. From the majestic cardinal to the furry fox, animals from across the thawing Wisconsin tundra were in attendance.

Several states open their fish and game seasons during the revival from our winter-woodland hibernation. The opening of turkey season is among my top spectacles. Watching those feathery birds claw into the dirt, scratching for scraps and beards dangling sparked a gobble inside me. It won’t be too long before the turkey-hunting crusade marches into the woods.

As time passes and winter fades, we are left with the fond memories of winter’s last thaw. The recollections of last Thanksgiving, Christmas and deer hunting season are captured. Winter has become a piece of our memory – a simple frozen fragment of time and collected into our hearts, to never be forgotten. We move forward with dazzled eyes and bright thoughts of the new season upon us. Welcome to the road to spring!

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Moultrie Feeders, an industry leader in game management products, brings you "Grow the Hunt" – a Blog dedicated to game management and hunting. Follow along as our writers share their firsthand knowledge, from planting food plots to scouting game. Meet our Writers »